Merv

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Merv is collection of the ruins of several consecutively built ancient cities in the Mary Province of Turkmenistan. Medieval Merv was a major city on on the Silk Road, and during the 12th century, the biggest city in the world. It is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a major touristic attractions of Turkmenistan.

The oasis of Merv is situated in the Karakum Desert at the crossing of the Ama Darya River and the main route to Bukhara and Samarkand. It occupies an area of 86 x 75 km. The earliest Bronze Age centers in the oasis of Merv date from 2500 BC to 1200 BC. They are situated in the northern part of the oasis.

The historic urban center developped around 500 BC in the eastern part of the oasis. It consisted of several walled cities, occupying an area of mire than 1200 hectares. The oldest of these cities is Erk Kala. According to the famous trilingual inscription of Daris the Great at Bisitun (Iran) Erk Kala dates back to the Achaemian period /519 to 331 BC). The oasis was part of Alexander the Great's empire. Plinius the Elder reports that the city was founded by Alexander himself. It was rebuilt by the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter (281 to 261 BC) and named Margiana Antiochia. This city is identified with Erk Kala and Giaur Kala and was occupied in the Parthian, Sasanian and early Islamic periods. It is suggested that Greek and Roman soldiers who survived the defeat of the Romans against the Parthians at Carrhae in 53 BC settled at Margiana. Islam was dominant after the death of the last Sasanian King Yazdigird III (651 AD).

The medieval city from the Seljuk period was erected west of the Giaur Kala. It was walled by Sultans Malikshah and Sanjar in the 11th and 12th cent. The city extended over more than 600 ha. It was the capital of the Seljuk Empire (11th to 13th cent.) and one of the most important cities in this period. It attracted scholars from all over the Islamic world, as the famous astronomer and poet Omar Khayyam and the geographer Yaqut al Hamavi.

The city was sacked by the Mongols in 1221 and became part of the empire of Timur (1370-1405). The new city Abdullah Khan Kala was erected by Shah Rukh (1408-1471) on a new site to the south of Giaur Kala.

Mary lies between Ashgabat and Turkmenabat. Turkmenistan Airlines operates three flights per day from Ashgabat to Mary. If you are short of time, you can fly from Ashgabat to Mary in the morning, visit Merv, and return to Ashgabat in the same evening. Turkmenistan Railways has daily, but rather slow, trains from Ashgabat, Turkmenabat and Turkmenbasi to Mary, even though the closest stop to the sight is Bayramaly. Marshrutkas and shared taxis frequently make high-speed cross-dessert journeys from Ashgabat and Turkmenabat. If you want to get of at Mary when going from Turkmenabat, you'd still have to pay the full fare to Mary.

You need to arrange your own transport to reach Merv. The bigger hotels in Mary can set you up with a driver that takes you to the sight, make stops and wait for you to have your fill before driving back to Mery. Bikers find that Merv is visitable in a day as an excursion from Mary, or as a stop on the way to or from Turkmenabat. To reach on bike, exit east from Merv and head to Bayramaly from which the sight is a 3-4km detour on your left (north).

Being as Merv was once the biggest city in the world the site is positively huge. Having a car (or indeed a bike) saves time and energy. A paved road cuts through and enables access to the different sights. Large areas within the various city-walls and between more interesting sights are just dessert with the occasional roaming camel. Walking about the place is very time-consuming, and tiering, especially if the weather is warm. Bring water and cover your head if visiting in warm weather regardless of your transport at the sight.

The Bronze Age Settlements Kelleli, Adji Kul, Tai, Gonur Depe and Togoluk date from 2500 to 1200 BC. They are situated in the Northern part of the oasis. Kelleli 3 and Kelleli 4 have a double external wall with towers and houses. Both sites are poorly preserved, but delivered important informations of Margiana in the Middle Bronze Age. Taip illustrates the transition from Middle to Late Bronze Age. Gonur Depe is the largest Bronze Age site in Merv oasis. It covers an area of 55 ha. Excavations have revealed a huge palace, a fire temple and a large necropolis from the Late Bronze Age. Remains of large fortified buildings have been discovered in the excavations at Togoluk.

The Iron Age Settlements Yaz Depe and Takhirbaj Depe in the Northern part of the oasis date from 1200 to 300 BC. Takhirbaj Depe was the most important Iron Age center in this area and was occupied throughout the Achaemenid period. During excavations at Yazd Depe a great number of ceramics was found, providing the basic typology of this period. The well preserved fortress of Gobekli from Parthian-Sasanian times is nearby.

Erk Kala dates from the 6th cent. and covers an area of about 20 ha. It consists of a wall and moat. The surviving walls are up to 30 meters high.

Giaur Kala dates from around 1000 AD. It is roughly square in plan and its walls are about 2 km long. The Ben Makhan Mosque in the center is hardly recognizable. The Buddhist stupa and monastery in the south east corner of Giaur Kala are considered as the westernmost excavated example.

Sultan Kala dates from the 11th cent. Sultan Kala means 'fortress of the sultans'. It is situated to the west of Giaur Kala. Merv became the capital of the Seljuk State in the 11th and 12th centuries. In this period the city reached its greatest prosperity. The city was surrounded by a fortication and a moat by order of sultan Melik Shah. The walls of the medieval city and the citadel Shahriyar Ark are 12 km long.

The nearby Mausoleum of Mohammed ibn Zayid was built in the 12th cent. in honour of Mohammed ibn Zayid, a major representative of the Shiit branch of the islam and descendant of caliph Ali in the fifth generation. Mohammed ibn Zayid was the head of a revolt against the Omayads in the 8th cent. The revolt was suppressed within a year and Mohammed ibn Zayid was killed. The fine Kufi inscription in the chamber and the original decorated brick facade of the prayer hall are especially remarkable. The mausoleum is considered one of the best examples of Islamic architecture.

Greater and Lesser Kyz Kala

Abdullah Khan Kala is the fortress ereceted by Timur's son Shahrukh in the 15th cent. The fortress was lined with mud bricks from the outside and had 44 watch towers. The fortifications were surrounded by huge moats up to 30 m wide, filled with water. In the citadel, only few walls of the palace have survived. The walls, however, are of outstanding interest, as they show the evolution of military architecture from the 5th cent. BC to the 15th/16th cent. AD.

The fortresses of Gobleki, Uly Kishman and Garry Kishman formed part of the earthen ramparts, 30 km longs, builit for protection against invasions from the steppes in the North.

Bairamalikhan Kala dates from the 18th cent. It is a three walled structure adjacent to the western wall of Abdullakhan Kala. The length of the western wall was 750 meters, the northern and southern walls were 500 m long. Only fragments of the southern and northern walls have survived.

Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar. The Mausoleum was built in the center of the Seljuk city. It is also called 'Dar-al-Akhyre (The Other World). Ajmad Sanjar (1085-1157) was sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire. He was one of the last great Seljuk and was described as brave, generous and chivalrous, a perfect Iranized Turk, defender of the Persian civilization and one of its legendary heroes. At the time of the division of the reign among the sons of Malkikshah he became governor of Khurasan at the age of ten or twelve. His principal residence was Merv. He installed vasall rulers in Transoxania and Afghanistan and became lord of an extensive sultanate in the Iranian East. In 1141, however, Transoxania was conquered by the Kara-Khitai, who had migrated from China to the Issyk Kul. In 1153 tribes of Oghuz rebelled against Sanjar, took him prisoner and plundered Merv. Sanjar could free himself 3 years later only and died in 1157. Finally, Sanjar had failed to create a lasting Seljuk state in the Iranian east. During the siege of Merv by the Mongols in 1221 the body of the sultan was reburied in an unknown place. The mausoleum was constructed by order of Sultan Muizeddin Sanjar. Due to the fine brickwork, the carved stucco and the surviving mural paintings it is one of the most outstanding buildings of the Seljuk period.edit